Famous Arkansans In New Book

BUTLER CENTER TOME FOCUSES ON YOUNG PEOPLE LEARNING ABOUT ARKANSAS

While the state Legislative vetoes fly from our Governor’s office and the state House and Senate override votes are cast down in Little Rock, a new and very interesting book, aimed at young readers ( and some older ones too) is making a welcome debut.

So I’m taking a week off to state politics to focus on this book of the state’s history.

“Natural State Notables,” is a very good book for those younger folks to read and see the special opportunities and beauty this state does indeed possess.

The author, Steven Teske, is an employee at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, which is a part of the Central Arkansas Library System in Little Rock. He has issued a short, concise modern- day history of 21 important persons to the Arkansas landscape.

Teske, who wrote “Unvarnished Arkansas” about famous people from the state in the 19th and early 20th centuries and co-wrote “Homefront Arkansas,” a moving book on war-time life in our state, has issued this new book about individuals that most Arkansans should know.

But while most “babyboomers” will know these names in an instant, there are thousands, yea, hundreds of thousands, who in a very short time, might not recall the lives of a Sam Walton, Johnnie Bryant Hunt or a Maya Angelou. Or how about this pair: Do you know or recall the names of John H. Johnson from Arkansas City or Ruth Beall from Rogers?

Or these, another pair of Arkansans:

How about Hazel Walker of Ashdown?

Or Samuel Kountz of Lexa in eastern Arkansas?

These 21 individuals, their backgrounds and their accomplishments are finely detailed within the pages in a large two-page format, complete with photos and a map of the state. This map directs the reader to where these famous people grew up and where many of them thrived in business, music, politics, sports and even healthcare.

“Natural State Notables,” is a great book as a gift to a young teen to interest them in our state’s history.

Female names like Daisy Bates, Bette Greene and Mary Steenburgen mix with male names of Al Green, Scottie Pippen, Winthrop Rockefeller and John Grisham.

The book will also make a great gift for the older generations.

There are no long, flow- ery tributes in the book, just plain and simple historical essays on the accomplishments of each honoree.

The book while an idea of the management of the Butler Center for Arkansas History, which is a part of the Central Arkansas Library System, is a musthave for every Arkansas history classroom in our state.

The project for the book to become a reality was also made possible by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Department of Arkansas Heritage, two vital state agencies whose works often overlook the big scheme of state government.

As reviewing this book, I’ll send kudos out to the author Teske, the Butler Center, the UA Press and the state Humanities Council and the Department of Arkansas Heritage. Also mentioned, as they should be, are two Arkansans who have contributed mightily to preserving Arkansas written history and other folk ways in our state — Dora Johnson Ragsdale and John G. Ragsdale Jr.,

Well done.